My partner bought what he thought were 12 Angus beef sausages from Waitrose just before Christmas but when he opened the packet there were only six. He cooked four which I thought were a bit spicy but ok, and he said he would return the other two as they didn’t match the packet description. When I looked at the receipt it said six pork chorizo sausages and I was horrified as (for religious reasons) I don’t eat pork.
He took what was left – and the receipt – to Waitrose which kept the package (specifying no pork ingredients) and said they would investigate. They offered a replacement, which he declined, and a voucher for £10 or £20 from head office, also refused. Correspondence suggests they are not taking it very seriously. We have been loyal customers for many years and are shocked they are treating this so lightly.
SK, Buckhurst Hill, Essex
This was in breach of food labelling laws as well as offending on religious grounds and Waitrose reassured us that it launched an investigation immediately. It says: “It’s clear somebody put an outer cardboard sleeve onto the wrong sausages at some point after a reduced sticker was applied. We’re confident this is a one-off because the reduced sticker applies to the correct product, which it wouldn’t do if the other sleeve had been on there earlier. We have had no reports of similar problems. However, this absolutely should not have happened and we’re very sorry for the distress caused.”
We understand you were offered around £100, which you considered did not reflect the severity of what happened, although we think it was a reasonable offer. You have taken out a County Court summons – claiming misrepresentation as the goods weren’t as shown on the package, and for the upset caused – which Waitrose intends to defend.
You could still refer it to Trading Standards, which would need as much evidence as possible.
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